International remittances and its impact on households and village development: a comparative study of Gujarat and Kerala states, India

Abstract

In recent years the discourse on ‘migration and development’ has gained acceleration due to increased interest of researchers and policy makers on capitalization of the positive impacts of migration and remittances. Manifold increase in the flow of remittances to the developing countries, its counter cyclicality during times of economic crises and increased businesses at national and international levels due to its transfer process has been cited as some of the triggering factors to this ‘renewed’ interest in migration and remittances. Several country studies on remittances have generally brought to light the more positive developmental impact of remittances at all levels including micro (migrant households), meso (village communities to which the emigrants belong) as well as macro (countries of emigration) levels. However, from the existing literature, it is evident that a lacuna in research on many facets of migration and remittances and its implications for development in the Indian context, especially a multi level approach is clearly evident. India being the highest remittance receiving country today not only calls for greater understanding of the role played by the migrant worker’s remittances in the country, but also requires a synchronization of macro, micro as well as meso level research. At the same time, India being such a diverse country with different cultural communities having their own historical background of migration, state level variations in migration and remittances pattern is bound to exist, as indicated by studies. However, contemporary research on remittances in India fails to encompass these aspects. This doctoral study attempts to assess and compare the impact of remittances in two highly emigrating and remittance receiving states of Gujarat and Kerala in India through a village level approach to capture the micro and meso level impact of remittances. The broad objectives of the study were mainly three fold: 1. First objective of the study was to understand the flow of remittances to India and its relative importance at the macro level. 2. Second was the micro level objective of understanding the economic and social impact of remittances on migrant households that receive them. 3. Since in this study, the role of both individual as well as collective remittanceswas aimed to be explored, the third was the meso level objective of assessing the spill over effect of remittances received by households to the local village economy and also exploring whether migrant associations have any role in the developmental activities of the villages.